Radar system for automated vehicle with phase change based target catagorization

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9470777-B2
Application number	US-201514854929-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 15, 2015
Priority date	Sep 19, 2014
Publication date	Oct 18, 2016
Grant date	Oct 18, 2016

Abstract

A radar system suitable for an automated vehicle includes a plurality of antennas configured to detect a reflected radar signal reflected by an object in a field-of-view of the system. Each antenna of the plurality of antennas is configured to output detected signals indicative of the reflected radar signal detected by each of the plurality of antennas. The system also includes a controller configured to receive the detected signals from the plurality of antennas, determine if the object is present in the field-of-view based on the detected signals, and determine a phase-difference between symmetrical-frequency-bins for each antenna. The symmetrical-frequency-bins are symmetrically offset from a maximum-amplitude non-coherent-integration detection-frequency-bin (max-NCI-bin). The controller is further configured to determine a classification of the object based on a time-domain-analysis of the phase differences across the plurality of antennas.

First claim

I claim:

1. A radar system suitable for an automated vehicle, said system comprising:
a plurality of antennas configured to detect a reflected radar signal reflected by an object in a field-of-view of the system, wherein each antenna of the plurality of antennas is configured to output detected signals indicative of the reflected radar signal detected by each of the plurality of antennas; and
a controller configured to
receive the detected signals from the plurality of antennas,
determine if the object is present in the field-of-view based on the detected signals,
determine a phase-difference between symmetrical-frequency-bins for each antenna, wherein the symmetrical-frequency-bins are symmetrically offset from a maximum-amplitude non-coherent-integration detection-frequency-bin (max-NCI-bin), and
determine a classification of the object based on a time-domain-analysis of the phase differences across the plurality of antennas.

2. The system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the time-domain-analysis is configured to determine a slope of the phase difference across antenna-array elements.

3. The system in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the time-domain-analysis is configured to determine a variance of a slope of the phase difference across antenna-array elements.

Assignees

• Delphi Tech Inc

Inventors

• Arage Alebel Hassen

Classifications

• G01S13/52

  Discriminating between fixed and moving objects or between objects moving at different speeds · CPC title

• G01S13/4454

  phase comparisons monopulse, i.e. comparing the echo signals received by an interferometric antenna arrangement · CPC title

• G01S13/50

  Systems of measurement based on relative movement of target · CPC title

• G01S7/354 Primary

  Extracting wanted echo-signals (Doppler systems G01S13/50) · CPC title

• G01S7/414

  Discriminating targets with respect to background clutter · CPC title